On Soccer
Matt Williams
LYNN — Say this for the Peabody High girls soccer team: They'll be back.
Despite a 3-0 loss to top-ranked and unbeaten Acton-Boxboro last night in the Division 1 North girls soccer final at Manning Field, the Tanners made it abundantly clear that they belonged on the same field as a Colonials team that won its third straight North title and is considered the top team in New England by several soccer publications.
Peabody (18-1-2) carried the play for stretches of last night's game, and missed the net by mere inches on at least four occasions.
Yes, the end result was a zero on the scoreboard for the first time all year. But Peabody proved it belonged in the discussion among the state's soccer elite by making the first trip to a North final in school history. It was the best run by any Tanner team in the state tournament in 29 months.
Bank on them staying in that discussion for a long time, too. Peabody started five freshman, returns seven league all-stars and watched phenom Hayley Dowd set a school record for goals and points in a single season as a rookie.
"To do this with such a young line-up ... these girls have nothing to hang their heads about," Peabody coach Dennis Desroaches said. "To get to this stage with a brand new team and so many players with no varsity experience says a lot about them."
Last night, Peabody ran up against their mirror image two or three years from now. A-B's senior class is one of the best in the state and the Colonials are 84-3-2 the last four years, chasing their second state title in that span.
The young Tanners were not intimidated. Especially on defense, Peabody's youngsters held their position and were solid all night, save for two gaffs early in the second half. Undersized but with plenty of heart and savvy, freshmen Cayla Bucci, Kara Digiacomo and Cat Roacha challenged U.S. National team participant Hayley Brock like grizzled vets.
"To play at this level against a player like Hayley Brock — and cause her some problems — is really impressive," marveled Desroaches.
Starting a "Fab Five" of freshmen, the 2009 season was the birth of something special for the Tanners. Every major contributor will be back next year. The seeds for better things are planted — expect them to grow wildly.
Dowd, who has world class speed and unparalleled ball control, is only going to get more dangerous and she's on an absurd 200-goal pace. Fellow freshman striker Victoria Digiacomo had a dynamite year.
Junior captain Emily Manoogian, the Adam Oates to Dowd's Cam Neely, runs the operation offensively. Fellow captain Angela Ellison is an elite midfielder, too.
More impressive than the Tanners' laundry list of talent was the way Manoogian, Ellison and senior Laura Mahoney (who missed the playoffs with an injury) got them to gel. They never let their inexperience become a problem and there isn't a selfish seed in the bunch.
All that led to an inspired effort last night against a bigger, stronger and more experienced team. While it fell short, the bravado Peabody showed is a great sign for the future.
"We weren't coming in on our heels. We weren't here to watch A-B play — we came with our game and we attacked," said Desroaches. "We weren't coming in fearing them."
The best season in school history is a great way to kick off the careers of these "Fab Five" and a feather in the caps of their upperclassmen cohorts. Somehow, though, it feels like they'll be setting that bar a little higher before they're through.
After all, Rocky didn't beat Apollo Creed in the first movie, either.
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Matt Williams is a staff writer at The Salem News. Contact him at MWilliams@salemnews.com or 978-338-2669.
